(no subject)

[pez]

One thing I hate seeing in fanfiction: the (excessive) use of Japanese words.

Oh sure, use "buchou", "mamushi", "ochibi". That's how they address each other. Use "saa" because that's something Fuji says a lot. Use "shi-ne" coz it's something Aya yells and everybody understands. Use it if it's word-play, such as Sengoku calling Momoshirou as "Omoshiro-kun", or whatever bad pun Dabide cracks.

But if you start using "ohayou", "doushite", "honto"... WHY?! Because they are Japanese? Then why don't you write the whole thing in Japanese? Does using the occasional Japanese word make the story better? No, most likely it doesn't make any difference, and to the newbies to fandom, having to learn all these new words just to read fanfics... it kills the story. And it doesn't make you look any smarter.

Can someone PLEASE tell me why people are (still) doing this?

Comments

[factorielle.livejournal.com]

Because people are still seeing it in other fics and think it's expected of them.
On the whole, I think those guilty of it are mostly those who want to prove they know what the words mean. :p

[arithion.livejournal.com]

Actually, I don't do it unless I have a Japanese character who is speaking english. If what I am writing is me writing Japanese people in English, I don't do it. I'm pretty sure all 35 chapters of Smile so far have avoided it, and I'm damn proud of the fact because it's intentional.

It annoys me as much as it does you

OH BTW I WUBBLE YOU TO DEATH AND BACK!!!!!!!

[mirichan.livejournal.com]

Because the fangirls think its cute to do so -- even though they just look stupid... or because they want to show off!

Honestly? Unless you are Japanese and your characters are, there's NO real reason to have any Japanese words in a fanfic (I LOATHE having to go check the endnotes for definitions)... except, as you say, for stuff that were not translated (like Sakura "Hanyan" in Cardcaptor Sakura).

And that stands for ANY language. Schuldig MAY be German but I am not. And unless the writer herself is German, she should keep that away from the fanfics...

But it does not beat having 2 NON-Japanese people talking to one another in Japanese (like Trowa/Quatre using Japanese to sweet-talk to one another when none of them are!!!).

My #1 pet peeve in anime fanfiction IS Japanese fangirling in fics!

[ex-semishade366.livejournal.com]

I think it can be okay in moderation, a bit like an English-language film which shows people speaking in their own native language before switching the dialogue to English (this may or may not drive other people crazy, I'm not in a position to know). And sometimes a phrase is so characteristic of the person that it would be a shame to translate it. That said, my absolute and total pet hate in fic is actually the use of "koi"/"koibito" and I'm not all that keen on "aishiteru" either. They invariably grate, wherever I see them.

[mirichan.livejournal.com]

My ultimate favorite?

The silly GW fangirls who insist to have Trowa speak French to Quatre (forget the fact that nobody knows what Trowa is... but if he IS Triton Bloom? Not French... and nowhere does he ever say he speak the language... fanon all the way through).

Why I hate it so much? Most fangirls can't use French correctly... I have NOT seen a GW fic that had them talking in French that was correct (unless I had betaed it ^_^).

I remember once having a serious discussion with the team I was betaing for... they had a French mistake... I told them. They said that Y (who was French from France) had said it was okay so maybe it was a regional thing (my French is INTERNATIONAL... I write perfect French, not joual). I had to PROVE to the writing team that I was right and their French from France friend was wrong... which she acknowledged when I proved it to her/them with a copy of the Le Petit Robert dictionary proving my point!

Being French does not mean you write perfect French; same way with being English does not mean you don't do typos... but ask a secretary (me) and there is a darn good chance my skills will be better (because otherwise? It meant retyping (I was working in offices BEFORE computers became the tool of choice ^_^).

[/whine-rant ^_^]

[nachtmusik.livejournal.com]

Eh, I can be guilty of this. *hangs head sheepishly* But I usually do it for things like honorifics, or things that I just don't like the way they sound translated (i.e. 'zannen munnen mata raishuu' just seems better in Japanese). I have tried to pull myself away from using the fangirly Japanese quite so frequently.